Egypt to open Rafah crossing for 3 days

The Palestinian Embassy in Cairo stated on Sunday that the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza would reopen from Tuesday to Thursday this week.

The embassy clarified on its website that Tuesday the border would only allow the crossing of students, and thanked the Egyptian government for helping to alleviate the turmoil of people in Gaza.

Since the ousting of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, the crossing has rarely been opened, and when it has, it was usually only for a few hours for extreme emergencies.

The last time the crossing was open briefly was during the last week of December, to allow students to travel and a few medical cases to seek care in Egypt. It had been closed since October, following an attack in Sinai that left 33 security personnel dead.

Last week, Egyptian border guards allegedly killed a young Palestinian man as he attempted to enter through the closed Rafah crossing. According to media reports, he was accompanied by two others. A medical report stated that he was shot in the back and died instantly.

Hamas condemned the death of 17-year-old Zaki Hopi and described it as “a dangerous development and an excessive use of force.”  

Mada Masr previously published a timeline of the opening and closing of the Rafah border crossing since 2013.